I  SKETCHES  OF  \ 
SPANISH-COLONIAL 

-LIFE  IN  PANAMA ^ 

I     16T2-1821     i 
LADY  MALLET 


{/ 
University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


SPANISH-COLONIAL 
LIFE  IN  PANAMA 


Michinga. 


SKETCHES  OF 

SPANISH-COLONIAL 

LIFE  IN  PANAMA 


BY 

LADY  MALLET 

Wife   of  Sir  Claude   Coventry   Mallet 

British    Envoy    Extraordinary    and 

Minister    Plenipotentiary  to 

Panama  and  Costa  Rica 


fork 

STURGIS  &  WALTON 
COMPANY 

1915 


Copyright,  1915 
BY  LADY  MALLET 


1  W.OKM*   Sill 


15 
O 


INTRODUCTION 

IT  has  ever  been  a  great  delight  to  me 
to  engage  elderly  people  in  conversa- 
tion. As  a  child,  the  accounts  of  incidents 
during  their  lives  fascinated  me,  they  fas- 
cinate me  now,  and  very  especially,  the 
reminiscences  of  Colonial  life  in  Panama. 
I  acquired  many  years  ago  the  habit  of 
taking  notes  of  any  interesting  stories  I 
would  hear, — always  hoping  that  my  son 
would  make  use  of  them  some  day,  and 
publish  them  in  book  form.  I  hardly  felt 
equal  to  doing  it  myself.  But  repeatedly, 
when  relating  some  of  these  anecdotes,  I 
have  been  asked,  "Why  don't  you  write 
that,  just  as  you  have  told  it*?"  In  this 
way  encouragement  has  come  from  many 
a  kind  listener,  and  at  last  I  have  been  per- 
suaded to  tell  my  little  stories.  I  have 


vi  INTRODUCTION 

endeavored  to  tell  them  just  as  I  would 
speak  them,  avoiding  all  lengthy  details 
which  would  seem  pretentious  and  form 
a  big  book. 

My  small  attempt  at  story  writing  does 
not  pretend  to  be  a  book — call  it  con- 
versations or  notes — and  I  trust  the  facts 
I  enumerate  may  be  found  interesting. 
Everything  I  mention  has  happened,  and 
has  been  told  me  by  the  persons  them- 
selves, or  their  descendants.  Truthful- 
ness is  the  only  merit  I  can  claim  for  my 
little  volume. 

I  dedicate  it  to  my  beloved  children, 
Dita  and  George,  for  whose  entertain- 
ment I  wrote  most  of  the  stories  when  they 
had  not  grown  too  big  to  sit  on  my  knees 
and  listen  to  me  with  their  lovely  big  eyes 
watching  for  every  word  I  said. 

I  must  crave  indulgence  for  my  audacity 
in  writing  in  a  language  which  I  only 


INTRODUCTION  vii 

learned  when  I  went  to  boarding  school, 
and  I  have  been  urged  not  to  have  the  style 
corrected  or  changed  by  an  editor.  So 
here  it  is,  au  naturel,  and  may  it  please 
you. 

The  Colonial  period  to  which  these 
notes  refer  lasted  from  1672,  when  the  new 
town  was  founded,  till  1821  when  Pan- 
ama became  independent  of  Spain;  and 
the  description  of  a  dinner  party  in  1842  is 
given  to  show  how,  twenty-one  years  after 
the  Republican  regime  was  established, 
Colonial  courteous  habits  still  survived. 
To  better  understand  the  Colonial  inhab- 
itants of  Panama  it  should  be  explained 
that  the  town  was  a  very  small  one  within 
an  enormous  fort.  Inside  lived  the  nobil- 
ity with  their  slaves,  outside  lived  the  peo- 
ple, and  even  at  the  present  time  when  the 
barriers  of  the  fortifications  no  longer  ex- 
ist, the  idea  remains,  and  the  best  families 


viii  INTRODUCTION 

prefer  to  crowd  inside  in  discomfort, 
rather  than  live  outside  the  old  town  lim- 
its. 

The  destruction  of  the  first  city  by  Mor- 
gan in  1671,  taught  the  Spaniards  the  ne- 
cessity of  strongly  fortifying  the  new 
town,  and  the  present  site,  on  a  rocky 
peninsula,  was  found  admirably  adapted 
for  an  important  military  stronghold,  eas- 
ily defended  from  attacks  by  land  or  sea. 
At  one  time  this  place,  more  fortress  than 
town,  was  the  most  important  centre  of 
Spanish  domination  in  America,  before 
Bogota  and  Lima  had  been  colonized.  At 
the  old  town  the  first  Real  Audiencia 
(Royal  Chancellery)  of  South  America 
had  been  established  in  1538.  Previous 
to  that,  there  had  been  one  in  Santo  Do- 
mingo and  one  in  Mexico. 

In  1690  we  find  Don  Pedro  Jose  Guz- 
man, Davalos,  Ponce  de  Leon,  Santillana 


INTRODUCTION  ix 

y  Mesia,  Marques  de  la  Mina,  General  of 
Artillery,  a  native  of  Seville,  arriving  here 
as  President  of  the  Royal  Chancellery  of 
Panama  and  Commander  General  of  the 
Kingdom  of  New  Andalusia,  to  replace 
the  Count  de  Palmar.  He  governed  for 
five  years,  and  then,  through  political  in- 
trigues and  unjustified  slanders,  was  con- 
fined to  the  Castle  at  Fort  Lorenzo,  where 
he  remained  during  the  four  years  that  his 
trial  lasted.  He  was  succeeded  by  the 
Count  de  Camillas,  who  perpetrated  so 
many  cruelties  on  the  imprisoned  Marques 
that  a  protest  was  sent  to  Spain  by  the 
garrison  of  the  fort  and  the  people  of  Cha- 
gres,  and  on  the  yth  of  July  1699,  by 
order  of  His  Majesty  the  King  of  Spain, 
the  Count  de  Camillas  was  replaced  by  the 
Marques  de  Villa  Rocha  and  the  poor 
Marques  de  la  Mina  was  released  and 
went  to  Porto  Bello. 


x  INTRODUCTION 

It  is  worth  noting  that  in  most  places 
the  President  of  the  Royal  Chancellery 
was  nothing  else,  but  in  Panama  he  was 
Governor  and  Captain  General  as  well. 
To  prevent  him  from  being  influenced  in 
any  way,  he  was  forbidden  to  marry,  to 
be  a  sponsor  at  a  Christening  or  at  a  wed- 
ding, to  acquire  any  real  estate  or  to  own 
more  than  two  slaves  for  his  personal  serv- 
ice. 

Though  Panama  was  never  a  Viceroy- 
alty  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word,  three 
Viceroys  at  various  times  have  established 
their  seat  of  government  there  : 

Don  Benito  Perez,  from  May  1812  to 

1813- 

Don  Juan  Samano,  December  1820  to 
August  1821,  when  he  died. 

Don  Juan  de  la  Cruz  Murgeon,  from 
August  to  October  1821. 


Ruins  of  Fort  San  Lorenzo,  also  known  as  Chagres  Castle,  situated  on  a  hill 
overlooking  the  Atlantic.  Note  the  grenades  and  cannon  balls  piled 
on  the  ground  just  as  the  Spaniards  left  them  in  1821.  In  this  fort  the 
Marques  de  la  Mina  was  imprisoned  for  four  years. 


I 

MICHINGA 


COLONIAL  LIFE  IN 

PANAMA  ~T 

MICHINGA 
CHAPTER  I 

BABYHOOD  AND  DAILY  LIFE  IN  THE 
HOUSEHOLD 

THE  advent  of  baby  Michinga,  in  the 
already  numerous  household  of  Don 
Ramon,  was  hailed  with  great  joy  by  all 
her  sisters  and  brothers.  This  was  the 
new  doll  to  play  with,  and  what  a  beauti- 
ful doll  it  was,  with  her  skin  of  milk  and 
roses,  her  hair  of  golden  threads  and  a 
most  wonderful  pair  of  deep  brown  eyes ! 
Months  had  been  spent  in  preparations 
for  the  arrival  of  the  little  guest.  Dona 
Pepilla's  baskets  of  Mechlin  and  Venetian 


2  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

lace  had  been  almost  emptied  to  adorn 
sheets  and  pillow  cases  of  transparent 
linen  and  pineapple  lawn,  for  the  cradle. 
Every  design  in  the  family  samplers  of 
drawn  thread  and  cross-stitch  had  been 
used  in  lavish  profusion  on  the  bed  linen 
and  on  the  tiny  chemises;  and  wonderful 
little  caps  were  made  to  fit  tight  and  keep 
the  baby's  ears  back.  Prominent  ears  were 
the  horror  of  mammas  in  those  days,  and 
every  precaution  was  taken  to  prevent 
them.  Owing  to  the  great  heat  babies 
only  wore  the  elaborately  embroidered  lit- 
tle chemises  and  these  funny  little  caps. 

How  busy  the  slaves  had  been,  working 
and  talking !  Would  it  be  a  little  Master 
or  a  little  Mistress?  Whom  would  it 
look  like?  Which  of  the  slaves  would 
look  after  it?  Who  would  be  the  god- 
parents? Benancio,  the  cook,  gets  ready 
with  all  kinds  of  sweets  and  cakes  for 


Michinga's  Mother. 


MICHINGA  3 

the  christening.  Dionisio,  the  butler,  has 
gathered  all  the  lemons  from  the  garden, 
his  wife  is  busy  in  the  kitchen  sifting  wood 
ashes,  and  with  these  and  lemon  juice  all 
the  silver  of  the  house  is  to  be  made  spot- 
less. Very  special  attention  is  given  to 
the  large  silver  basin  in  which  all  the 
babies  of  the  family  receive  their  first  bath. 
This  basin  and  the  silver  jug  for  warm 
water  with  wings  forming  the  handles  and 
cherubs'  heads  in  relief,  will  be  carried  by 
Dionisio  to  church  on  the  day  of  the  chris- 
tening, as  he  has  carried  it  for  all  Michin- 
ga's  brothers  and  sisters. 

Other  slaves  who  have  charge  of  the 
floors  are  polishing  away  with  cocoanut 
husks,  sand  and  salt  water  until  the  floors 
look  as  smooth  and  white  as  a  modern 
pastry  board.  After  all  these  preparations, 
all  is  joy  in  the  household,  mixed  with 
small  jealousies.  All  the  slaves  have  seen 


4  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

the  baby,  the  most  beautiful  baby,  but 
some  slaves  have  been  allowed  to  carry  it 
or  to  rock  it  in  the  cradle,  and  this  creates 
discussions. 

Benancia  had  no  business  to  answer  the 
Sefiora's  bell  in  such  a  hurry  when  it  was 
Angela's  turn,  all  because  she  wants  to  be 
the  first  to  rock  the  baby's  cradle  or  be- 
cause she  thinks  she  has  the  prettiest  voice 
in  the  house  and  knows  so  many  cradle 
songs.  And  the  Sefiora's  broth,  her  prin- 
cipal nourishment  for  forty  days,  is  also 
the  cause  of  much  excitement.  Benancio, 
the  cook,  claims  that  he  always  has  made 
it  for  his  mistress,  using  one  nice  fat 
chicken,  one  pound  of  best  lean  beef  and 
various  vegetables  to  make  two  large  cups. 
Benancia,  the  white  slave,  who  is  lady's 
maid  and  sworn  enemy  of  Benancio,  re- 
minds him  that  when  Dona  Emilia  was 
born  she  made  the  Sefiora's  broth  and  it 


MICHINGA  5 

was  better  than  his.  Benancio  is  very  an- 
gry at  this  because  he  remembers  how  his 
master  on  that  occasion  hit  him  two  hard 
blows  on  the  shoulders  with  his  riding 
whip  and  sent  him  to  his  room  for  two 
days,  and  Benancia  meanwhile  reigned 
supreme  in  the  kitchen. 

These  two  were  always  in  trouble. 
Benancio  fell  in  love  with  Benancia  from 
the  first  day  she  arrived.  He  was  a  very 
handsome  negro  and  all  the  slave  women 
liked  him,  but  Benancia,  who  was  thin  and 
ugly,  considered  herself  his  superior  be- 
cause her  skin  was  white,  and  despised  all 
his  advances.  In  revenge,  he  tantalized 
her  in  every  way  he  could  and  the  punish- 
ment just  mentioned  had  been  richly  de- 
served, as  an  account  of  his  actions  will 
show. 

Benancio  had  a  large  monkey  which  he 
killed  and  then  tied  in  a  sitting  attitude  on 


6  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

one  of  the  kitchen  chairs,  with  a  crimson 
bonnet  on  its  head  and  the  large  kitchen 
knife  in  one  hand.  So  when  Benancia 
came  in  at  8  P.  M.  to  make  the  Senora's 
chocolate  and  in  the  semi-dark  kitchen  saw 
this  apparition,  she  promptly  had  a  fit  and 
Benancio  had  to  be  punished. 

Another  night  he  took  the  matting  off 
his  cot,  rolled  it  up,  dressed  it  like  a  ghost 
and  put  it  in  the  kitchen  for  Benancia, 
with  the  same  result — Benancia  in  a  fit, 
Benancio  flogged.  But  he  did  not  mind 
his  flogging  if  he  succeeded  in  giving 
Benancia  a  good  fright. 

Jose  Antonio  Paez,  a  big  handsome 
slave  who  had  come  from  Medellin,  was 
the  god  of  the  kitchen  quarters  and  the  de- 
light of  the  children.  He  used  to  adopt 
the  airs  of  a  grand  seigneur,  and  when  any 
of  the  slaves  called  him  Pepe  (the  diminu- 
tive of  Jose)  he  would  say,  placing  his 


Photo    by    Endara. 


Old  Colonial  table,  porcelain  vases,  fruit  dishes  and  fruit  plate.  On  the 
wall  an  old  picture  and  under  the  table  a  copper  brazero  for  burning 
coal — all  from  Michinga's  home. 


MICHINGA  7 

thumbs  under  his  armpits  and  holding  his 
head  very  high: 

Yo  me  llamo  Jose  Antonio  Paez 
For  la  mar  y  por  la  tierra, 
El  que  quiere  habblar  conmigo 
Ponga  la  rodilla  en  tierra. 

I  am  called  Jose  Antonio  Paez 
By  land  and  by  sea, 
Anyone  wishing  to  speak  to  me 
Must  to  the  ground  bend  his  knee. 

His  principal  duty  was  to  carry  the 
young  ladies  to  school  at  seven  in  the 
morning.  Little  Rita  would  sit  astride  on 
his  neck,  while  he  would  carry  Dona  Man- 
uelita  and  Dona  Pepita  in  his  strong  arms. 
With  one  hand  he  held  a  large  umbrella 
against  the  sun  and  rain.  A  little  girl 
slave  followed,  carrying  a  basket  upon  her 
head  with  the  little  frocks  to  be  worn  dur- 
ing school  time  and  a  change  of  linen  in 


8  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

case  the  little  damsels  in  their  play  hours 
should  moisten  their  clothes  romping  in 
the  great  heat  of  the  day. 

Manuela,  the  other  slave  of  importance 
in  the  house,  had  charge  of  the  linen. 
Her  needle  work  was  perfection.  The 
sewing  slaves  of  all  the  families  in  town 
would  come  to  Manonga  (the  diminutive 
of  Manuela)  to  learn.  She  knew  more 
stitches  in  drawn  thread  and  embroidery 
than  any  one,  and  had  a  veritable  talent 
for  beautifying  the  simplest  designs,  by 
introducing  little  improvements  and  orna- 
mentations of  her  own  invention. 

At  half  past  five  the  children  would  be 
up  and  run  to  the  beach  with  their  slaves 
for  a  dip  in  the  sea,  or  if  it  were  a  rainy 
morning,  their  little  hands  and  faces 
would  be  washed  with  rose  water  made  by 
Benancia,  who  always  kept  a  plentiful 
supply,  and  the  bath  in  the  garden  would 


MICHINGA  9 

be  taken  in  the  afternoon,  when  the  water 
had  been  properly  sunned.  To  bathe  in 
water  unpurified  by  the  heat  of  the  sun 
was  thought  dangerous.  Of  the  soap- 
wood  sticks  Benancia  had  charge  also,  and 
one  by  one  the  children  came  to  her  of  a 
morning  to  have  their  teeth  polished. 

At  six  Dionisio,  the  butler,  had  early 
breakfast  ready, — hot  coffee  for  the  mas- 
ters, milk  for  the  little  ones,  with  slices  of 
bollo  and  cheese.  Casave,  or  bollo,  was 
always  served  in  lieu  of  bread. 

The  first  week  passed  of  Michinga's  ar- 
rival, for  the  first  time  she  was  taken  out 
into  the  garden,  and  on  the  fortieth  day  of 
her  advent  the  period  of  confinement 
ended.  Dona  Pepilla  could  leave  her 
room  and  again  partake  of  the  varied  and 
delicious  food  Benancio  provided  for  the 
family.  At  5  A.  M.  the  great  Jose  An- 
tonio Paez  was  busy  with  the  baths  in  the 


10  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

garden,  two  large  marble  tubs  sunk  into 
the  ground  and  screened  from  view  by 
pretty  creepers.  Water  had  to  be  carried 
from  the  well  to  fill  them  and  then  jas- 
mine and  roses  were  thrown  in  to  perfume 
the  baths,  which  must  be  got  ready  with 
special  care  on  this  occasion,  as  the  mistress 
is  out  and  about  again  and  the  water  must 
be  exposed  to  the  sun  in  flat  tins  to  warm  it 
and  absorb  the  dew,  that  dew  which  was 
supposed  to  be  the  cause  of  most  illnesses. 
The  aromas  were  collected  from  the  trees 
in  the  garden  very  early  that  morning  by 
Benancia  to  place  in  her  mistress's  clothes. 
During  the  forty  days  no  perfumes  had 
been  allowed  in  the  house;  they  would 
have  harmed  Michinga  and  mama;  only 
incense  was  used,  burning  in  a  silver  re- 
ceptacle, with  a  tall  conical  wicker  frame 
over  it,  on  which  all  the  linen  would  be 


MICHINGA  11 

placed  to  be  purified  and  perfumed  be- 
fore wearing  it. 

At  ten  o'clock  lunch  was  always  ready; 
the  children  came  back  from  school  run- 
ning, all  wishing  to  be  first  in  kissing  the 
hands  of  their  father  and  mother  and  re- 
ceiving the  blessing  from  them  after  Jose 
had  given  the  report  of  their  conduct  at 
school.  To  have  this  blessing  withdrawn 
was  the  greatest  disgrace  that  could  be- 
fall a  child,  and  the  unblessed  one  had  a 
bad  time  of  it  all  day.  No  nice  children 
liked  to  play  with  one  who  deserved  such 
punishment. 

Lunch  was  the  heavy  meal  of  the  day, 
but  it  had  to  be  served  quickly  for  the 
children  were  due  at  school  again  at 
eleven,  and  on  rising  from  the  table  it  was 
a  cry  of  "Me  first"  and  a  rush  for  the  large 
silver  salvers  (basins)  which  the  slaves 


12  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

held  with  clear  water  and  verbena  leaves 
to  wash  the  hands  and  face,  and  another 
rush  for  the  carved  mahogany  tinajero 
with  heavy  stone  filter  and  terra  cotta  tin- 
aja  underneath  to  receive  the  water. 
Each  member  of  the  family  had  on  the 
tinajero  shelf  his  or  her  jarro,  a  red  clay 
cup  with  silver  cover,  and  discussions 
arose  among  the  children  who  could  not 
read  their  names  on  the  cover,  and  refused 
to  believe  the  older  children  who  could. 
Jarros  with  silver  covers  were  also  kept  in 
small  openings  made  in  the  heavy  mas- 
onry walls.  This  made  the  water  cool; 
and  to  give  the  water  a  nice  flavor  the  jar- 
ros  when  washed  were  rubbed  with  guay- 
aba  leaves. 

Jose  would  carry  a  dessert  to  school  at 
twelve, — sometimes  fruit,  sometimes  a 
fruit  drink,  or  cakes  with  sweets  and  jam. 

At  three  the  children  were  back,  and  all 


Drawn  thread  and  embroidery  on  pillow  sham  of  finest  linen  lawn.  The 
garland  is  embroidered  on  a  background  of  the  most  delicate  drawn 
thread  work. 


MICHINGA  13 

the  slaves  busy  bathing  them,  doing  the 
little  girls'  hair  up  in  wonderful  fashions 
with  curls,  gold  and  pearl  ornaments  and 
ribbons,  the  slaves  vying  with  each  other 
that  their  special  charge  might  look  the 
best.  Benancia  gathered  the  roses,  the 
hybiscus  and  the  prettiest  flowers  of  the 
garden  to  decorate  the  dinner  table,  and 
at  four  the  event  of  the  day  took  place. 
Dinner  was  a  formal  affair.  The  Mas- 
ter wore  one  of  his  best  embroidered 
white  satin  waistcoats.  Dionisio  had  to 
be  careful  that  the  turquoise  buttons  with 
a  tiny  pearl  in  the  centre  should  match  the 
sprays  of  forget-me-nots  embroidered  all 
down  the  front.  The  silver  buckles  of  the 
patent  leather  shoes  were  properly  rubbed 
and  made  to  shine  with  the  palm  of  the 
hand,  the  lace  ruffles  of  the  shirt  and  the 
soft  silk  scarf  round  the  neck  were  care- 
fully examined  to  see  that  all  was  right, 


14  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

for  the  Master  was  very  particular  about 
two  things:  his  personal  appearance  and 
.  the  jasmine  essence  for  his  handkerchief 
which  Benancia  prepared  for  him. 

The  Mistress  spent  quite  an  hour  dis- 
cussing her  evening  toilette  before  decid- 
ing what  to  wear.  First  the  petticoats 
had  to  be  chosen,  two  or  three  of  them,  so 
that  modesty  should  not  be  shocked  by 
discerning  her  form — and  the  dresses,  they 
were  all  so  wonderful;  of  silks  and  velvets 
all  the  way  from  Italy.  The  material  of 
one  of  those  skirts  would  make  four  of  our 
present  day  skirts,  the  bodices  low-necked, 
the  sleeves  usually  to  the  elbow,  or  at  any 
rate,  long  enough  to  be  considered  de- 
cent. 

At  five  all  the  family  went  out,  the 
Senora's  shoulders  covered  with  a  priceless 
Brussels  or  Spanish  lace  scarf,  and  all  the 
children  with  their  best  dresses.  This  was 


MICHINGA  15 

a  solemn  occasion,  no  romping  allowed 
when  out  for  the  daily  walk  with  papa 
and  mama.  It  was  delightful  to  wear 
the  lovely  lace-befrilled  and  elaborately 
embroidered  little  frocks  which  had  taken 
Manonga  so  long  to  make,  and  which 
other  little  girls  and  their  mamas  would 
admire  and  envy,  but  to  walk  slowly  two 
by  two,  to  remember  to  answer  salutations, 
to  keep  silent  or  speak  in  a  whisper,  and  to 
kiss  the  hand  of  the  old  ladies,  all  this  was 
really  too  much  restraint,  and  at  six 
o'clock  when  one  had  made  the  rounds  of 
the  city  walls,  meeting  all  one's  friends 
and  answering  the  salute  of  the  sentries, 
what  a  joy  to  return  home,  and  be  rid  of 
all  the  finery  and  make  up  for  the  restraint 
of  two  hours,  with  a  pillow  fight,  or  a 
game  of  blindman's  bluff;  or  hide  and  seek 
in  the  big  garden!  Another  lovely  game 
was  to  climb  the  cherry  trees  and  plum 


16  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

trees  and  pelt  the  slaves  who  tried  to  catch 
their  young  masters. 

Mama  Chepita,  the  oldest  slave,  would 
come  along  with  her  silver  candle  lighter 
at  dusk,  when  the  call  to  prayer  rang  from 
the  Cathedral  towers,  followed  by  Clara, 
who  carried  the  silver  clipper  and  tray,  to 
trim  and  light  all  the  candles  in  the  house. 
And  to  each  member  of  the  family  the  two 
women  would  give  the  formal  salutations 
as  they  met,  saying,  "Ave  Maria  Purisima, 
Buenas  Noches  de  Dios  a  Su  Merced" 
which  means,  "Ave  Maria  Purisima,  may 
the  Lord  grant  your  Grace  a  good  night." 

When  the  lights  were  lit  all  the  family 
and  favorite  slaves  would  meet  in  the 
drawing-room.  The  children  recited  the 
last  bit  of  poetry  they  had  learned,  friends 
came  in,  they  played  the  piano,  and  sang 
the  latest  French  ballad  or  recited  the  lat- 
est French  poem,  with  purest  French  ac- 


MICHINGA  17 

cent.  Other  evenings  would  be  devoted 
to  dancing  among  the  Sefiores,  or  the 
slaves  were  made  to  dance  for  the  amuse- 
ment of  their  masters. 

This  was  the  form  of  entertainment 
which  pleased  the  children  best.  The 
drums  and  rattles  would  be  brought,  Be- 
nancia  would  start  the  singing,  her  clear 
mellow  voice  sounding  above  all  the  other 
voices.  Everyone  would  join  in  clap- 
ping, to  keep  time,  and  the  dance  began. 
Mama  Chepita  always  danced  first.  She 
would  start  making  the  gliding  step  for- 
ward, and  bow,  first  to  the  Masters, 
then  to  the  musicians,  and  with  a  graceful- 
ness and  quickness  unbelievable  at  her 
age,  would  go  through  all  the  graceful  con- 
tortions of  the  Tamborito,  always  from  the 
waist  and  arms,  her  limbs  unbending,  and 
her  feet  gliding  along  as  though  she  were 
on  wheels.  Very  soon  the  men  would  be- 


18  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

come  enthusiastic  and  come  to  her, — pir- 
ouetting in  strange  fashion,  hat  in  hand. 
They  would  simulate  the  intention  of 
catching  her,  getting  near  enough  some- 
times to  pretend,  with  open  arms,  to 
embrace  her,  she  quickly  getting  away. 
When  the  excitement  of  the  dance  had 
reached  its  height,  a  man  would  fan 
Mama  Chepita  with  his  hat,  following 
her  with  the  same  graceful  gliding  step, 
she  always  pretending  to  get  away.  And 
then  another  man  would  come  into  the 
ring,  bow  to  him  and  go  through  the  same 
movements,  Mama  Chepita  going  on  with 
her  steps  and  movements  as  though  she 
had  not  noticed  the  change  of  partner. 
Presently  another  couple  came  into  the 
ring  and  Mama  Chepita  would  retire  and 
join  those  who  were  singing  and  clapping. 
When  the  girl  was  young  and  pretty  and 
a  good  dancer  her  partner  placed  his  hat 


Mahogany  desk  used  by  Michinga's  father  when  Governor  of  Panama,  with 
silver  lock-plates,  silver  inkstand  and  candle  sticks  inside  glass  shades. 
Glass  candle  shade  from  Michinga's  home  hangs  from  the  ceiling.  Pic- 
ture of  Michinga's  father  and  mother  on  the  wall. 


MICHINGA  19 

on  her  head.  This  always  created  the 
greatest  excitement.  Opal  was  heard  on 
every  side,  and  the  men  partners  succeeded 
each  other  with  great  rapidity,  always 
placing  the  hat  on  the  girl's  head,  one  hat 
on  top  of  another  until  a  veritable  tower  of 
hats  was  formed  and  the  girl  had  to  use  all 
her  skill  so  they  should  not  fall  off.  Some- 
times hats  and  money  would  be  thrown  at 
her  feet  by  the  spectators  during  the  dance. 
Punto  was  the  name  of  another  favorite 
dance,  but  very  few  could  do  it.  The  per- 
formance consisted  of  intricate  steps  and 
movements  of  the  abdomen.  In  fact  it 
was  La  danse  du  venire,  and  a  woman 
danced  it  alone.  Another  slave  dance  was 
the  Cumbia.  For  this  the  couples  stepped 
into  the  centre  of  the  room,  the  men  facing 
the  women,  and  gradually  a  solid  ring  of 
couples  was  formed.  The  man's  step  was 
a  sort  of  little  jump,  going  backwards,  the 


20  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

woman  sliding  in  front  of  him,  a  lighted 
candle  in  her  hand  held  with  a  large  ban- 
dana. The  spectators  gave  more  candles 
to  the  favorites  as  the  circle  passed  by  until 
sometimes  the  girls  could  with  difficulty 
hold  eighteen  or  more  candles  in  one  hand 
with  the  bandana  around  them  to  keep 
them  together. 

Michinga  and  her  little  brother,  Don 
Prospero,  became  experts  in  Tamborito. 
Michinga  would  always  stipulate  before 
beginning  that  she  should  have  lots  of  hats 
and  lots  of  money  thrown  at  her  feet,  be- 
cause then  she  could  dance  better.  But 
she  had  little  need  to  ask,  if  she  only 
knew.  When  she  did  dance,  her  audience 
were  absolutely  electrified.  Dionisio  and 
Mama  Chepita  always  wept  copiously  on 
these  occasions,  and  the  Opas!  and  I  pas! 
from  all  were  deafening.  Every  clever 
move,  every  graceful  motion  of  the  little 


MICHINGA  21 

beauty  set  the  slaves  on  strings,  and  they 
would  clap  hard  enough  to  break  their 
hands  if  they  could  have  been  broken. 

Sometimes,  when  Mama  Chepita  had 
had  a  long  enough  siesta  in  the  afternoon 
and  could  keep  awake,  she  would  sit  on  the 
floor  in  the  middle  of  the  room  and  tell  of 
the  deeds  of  conquest  when  she  first  came 
to  America,  or  recite  fairy  tales  of  India 
and  Arabia  which  she  remembered  as  in  a 
dream,  for  her  master,  who  was  jealous  of 
her  mother  loving  any  living  thing  but 
himself,  had  sold  little  Chepita  to  be  taken 
to  the  New  World  when  the  child  was  five 
years  old. 

At  eight  o'clock  Benancia  and  Dionisio 
came  with  the  chocolate  and  crisp  gauffres, 
and  at  nine  every  member  of  the  house- 
hold, even  to  the  stable  boys,  had  to  be  in 
the  drawing-room  for  prayers.  The  Senora 
knew  them  all  by  heart,  beautiful  prayers 


22  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

such  as  only  in  Spanish  sound  so  lovely. 
The  Litanies,  however,  the  Sefiora  had 
found  easier  to  learn  by  heart  in  Latin. 
Then  came  the  blessing  from  the  Master  of 
the  house,  and  everyone  to  bed  as  soon  as 
possible,  for  home-made  tallow  candles 
don't  last  long  and  there  are  so  many 
ghosts  in  the  darkness! 

One  day  poor  Angela,  the  slave  who 
washed  the  clothes  in  one  of  the  patois,  in 
Michinga's  home  had  a  great  misfortune. 
Her  little  girl  was  drowned  in  one  of  the 
botijas.  The  botija  is  an  earthenware  jar 
about  four  feet  high  and  eighteen  inches 
in  diameter,  which  used  to  be  kept  in  the 
kitchens  and  gardens  with  water  for  all 
purposes  in  the  house.  They  constituted  a 
great  danger  always  with  children,  who, 
trying  to  get  water  out  of  them,  would  fall 
in  head  first  and  be  unable  to  get  out  again. 
So  that  for  a  child  to  be  drowned  in  this 


MICHINGA  23 

manner  was  by  no  means  an  infrequent 
occurrence. 

Angela's  little  girl  was  the  children's 
live  doll,  and  they  missed  her  sadly.  All 
the  tube  roses  in  the  garden  were  gathered 
by  the  little  ones  to  make  her  a  cross;  for 
her  name  was  Margarita,  and  tube  roses 
in  Spanish  are  margaritas  also.  The  men 
slaves  of  the  house  carried  the  remains 
to  the  cemetery,  and  Don  Ramon  with  his 
two  eldest  sons  walked  at  the  head  of  the 
procession.  Little  Margarita  was  one  of 
the  family,  and  Don  Ramon  would  be  with 
her  till  the  end.  The  death  of  Mama 
Chepita  occurred  the  same  week,  but  the 
death  of  a  child  and  that  of  an  old  woman 
made  a  very  different  impression  on  the 
slaves.  The  child  was  an  angel,  the  church 
bells  did  not  toll  for  it,  but  rang  their 
liveliest  chimes,  and  one  should  rejoice 
that  there  was  one  more  angel  in  heaven. 


24  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

But  Mama  Chepita !  .  .  .  her  groans,  her 
ugly  face, — she  would  come  back  and 
frighten  Benancio  for  a  certainty  because 
he  killed  the  monkey.  Everyone  remem- 
bered what  he  had  done  to  displease 
Mama  Chepita  and  wondered  how  she 
would  punish  them.  For  monthsj  no  man 
or  woman  in  that  house  would  walk  alone 
in  the  dark;  special  prayers  were  said  to 
beg  the  departed  friend  not  to  return. 
Frequently  in  the  night  screams  would  be 
heard  in  the  servants'  quarters.  Mama 
Chepita  had  come,  someone  had  seen  her 
or  felt  her,  and  every  one  of  the  slaves  must 
get  out  of  bed  and  say  prayers,  because  evi- 
dently the  fire  of  Purgatory  was  hurting 
her  more  than  usual  and  they  must  pray 
for  her  prompt  release. 


CHAPTER  II 

CHRISTENING,    EDUCATION   AND   MARRIAGE 
COSTUME 

THE  christening  of  Michinga  was  a 
great  affair.  The  parents  were  very 
proud  of  her,  and  there  was  a  long  delib- 
eration about  names,  and  god  parents  who 
would  do  credit  to  the  baby, — fifteen  little 
brothers  and  sisters  had  preceded  her  into 
the  world,  but  her  beauty  surpassed  any- 
thing anyone  had  ever  seen.  Everyone 
came  to  admire  this  wonderful  little  bit  of 
live  Sevres. 

At  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the 
christening  took  place  with  much  ringing 
of  bells  at  the  Cathedral.  Everybody  who 
was  anybody  was  present  in  church,  and  all 

25 


26  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

the  street  boys  of  the  town  were  waiting  at 
the  door  for  the  godfather,  who  was  equal 
to  the  occasion  and  threw  handful  after 
handful  of  silver  coins  into  the  Plaza. 

At  the  house  of  the  parents  the  godfather 
and  godmother  distributed  gold  coins  of 
different  values,  glued  to  ribbons  with  the 
name  of  the  child  engraved  in  gold  letters, 
date  of  birth  and  of  christening,  and  the 
names  of  the  godparents.  Don  Ramon 
and  his  Senora  provided  a  good  dinner  for 
their  guests,  and  music,  so  that  dancing  was 
kept  up  to  a  late  hour.* 

At  Michinga's  christening  great  excite- 
ment was  caused  by  the  appearance  of  the 
first  carriage  in  Panama,  belonging  to 
Michinga's  godfather.  Drawn  by  a  beau- 
tiful team  of  Arab  horses,  he  used  it  on  this 

*  This  form  of  christening,  I  would  mention,  is  still 
kept  up  in  all  its  details,  with  the  tips  to  the  sacristan 
and  to  the  nurse  who  carries  the  baby  to  church. 


MARRIAGE  COSTUME  27 

occasion  for  the  first  time.  Up  to  then 
only  Sedan  chairs,  more  or  less  elaborately 
gilded  and  painted,  were  used  by  the  ladies 
when  their  slaves  took  them  to  church  or 
when  visiting  their  friends.  To  see  the 
owners  in  the  open  berlina  going  round 
and  round  upon  the  broad  massive  city 
walls  was  a  novelty  indeed,  and  was  for  a 
long  time  after  the  christening  the  event 
of  the  day. 

On  the  covered  pavement  of  the  old 
Town  Hall  a  regular  gossip  den  was 
formed  in  the  evenings.  All  the  women 
who  sold  sweets  and  cakes  and  fruit  drinks 
would  gather  there  with  their  tables  and 
trays,  a  dismal  tallow  candle  lighting  their 
goods.  The  berlina  and  horses  were  much 
discussed  by  the  saleswomen.  There  the 
children  came  with  their  nurses  to  buy 
cocada,  golloria,  millo,  and  other  dainties, 
and  of  course  news  was  exchanged. 


28  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

These  saleswomen  were  the  best  informed 
people  in  the  town,  and  often  in  troubled 
times  they  acted  as  spies,  diffusing  and 
gathering  information  according  to  the  pay 
they  had  received.  Politicians,  soldiers, 
merchants,  everyone  made  friends  with 
them. 

Michinga  went  to  school  with  her  twin 
sisters;  they  all  learned  to  write  a  pretty 
hand,  to  recite  poetry,  speak  French,  play 
the  spinet,  sing,  dance,  do  fine  needlework, 
and  were  lectured  every  day  on  good  man- 
ners and  respect  to  their  elders.  Once  a 
week  they  had  a  history  lesson,  another  day 
a  little  geography.  Add,  subtract,  multi- 
ply, divide,  and  at  fifteen,  having  learned 
all  this,  education  was  finished,  and  it  was 
time  to  get  married. 

The  twins'  turn  came  first;  they  were 
older  than  Michinga,  and  what  fun  they 
had  at  the  dances,  these  two  pretty  girls! 


MARRIAGE  COSTUME  29 

So  identical  were  they  that  their  lovers 
often  were  uncertain  if  they  were  dancing 
with  the  right  one,  and  it  was  a  bargain 
between  the  two  sisters  that  they  would 
never  tell.  When  they  were  babies  their 
mother  tied  different  colored  ribbons  on 
their  right  wrists  to  be  able  to  tell  one  from 
the  other.  They  lived  seventy-four  years, 
and  to  the  end  they  were  alike. 

Their  fifteenth  birthday  was  cause  for 
festivity  at  the  house  of  Don  Ramon,  and 
from  that  day  many  were  the  suitors  seen 
at  the  street  corner,  gazing  up  at  the  bal- 
cony. During  the  afternoon  walk  they 
were  followed  at  a  safe  distance.  Bits  of 
poetry  found  their  way  into  the  house  mys- 
teriously. Some  of  it  was  liked  and  ac- 
knowledged by  the  young  ladies  by  a  smile 
or  a  sign,  and  when  sufficient  encourage- 
ment had  been  given,  permission  was 
asked  by  the  young  man  to  call.  Twenty 


30  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

calls  would  be  paid  before  by  any  chance  a 
word  could  be  said  to  one's  beloved.  But 
poems  became  a  daily  occurrence.  At  the 
evening  visit  a  little  pressure  of  the  hand 
and  a  look  would  tell  if  one's  poetical 
declarations  had  been  received  with  favor. 
When  the  girls  were  ready  to  be  spoken  to, 
the  strategem  most  commonly  resorted  to 
was  a  ball,  and  the  interested  parties 
would  endeavor  to  bring  this  about,  and 
when  they  understood  each  other,  or 
thought  they  did,  after  a  few  words  whis- 
pered during  the  one  dance  allowed  by  eti- 
quette at  the  ball,  the  young  man's  father, 
accompanied  by  a  friend  to  bear  witness, 
would  solemnly  ask  the  young  lady's 
father  for  his  daughter's  hand.  After  the 
engagement  the  visits  continued  to  be  wit- 
nessed by  the  entire  family,  and  not  until 
after  the  young  couple  were  married  did 
they  have  a  chance  for  exchange  of  caresses 


Scapular  of  gold   repousse   work  and  gold   chain,   worn  with  the   national 

costume  of  Panama. 


MARRIAGE  COSTUME  31 

or  exchange  of  ideas.  It  was  a  mark  of  re- 
spect for  a  man  to  kiss  the  hand  of  any 
lady,  but  not  of  .the  one  he  intended  to 
make  his  wife.  A  public  demonstration  of 
affection  was  the  acme  of  vulgarity  and  the 
young  lady  would  have  resented  it  bitterly, 
and,  if  a  high  spirited  person,  she  would 
have  broken  the  engagement  then  and 
there. 

Twin  No.  i,  who  married  a  Spaniard, 
went  through  all  these  experiences.  Twin 
No.  2  married  a  Russian,  and  the  poor  man 
was  distracted  in  his  ignorance  of  all  these 
customs.  So  he  had  to  ask  the  lover  of 
Twin  No.  i  to  help  him,  and  the  feelings 
of  this  man,  writing  love  poems  for  the 
two  sisters,  must  have  been  ludicrous. 
But  he  helped  the  Russian  to  success,  and 
they  decided  to  get  married  together.  The 
double  wedding  was  a  great  event.  One 
bride  in  pink,  the  other  in  blue  pineapple 


32  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

silk,  with  dozens  of  yards  of  priceless  lace 
and  garlands  of  jasmine  and  orange  blos- 
soms decorating  the  skirt  and  bodice. 
Wreaths  of  the  same  flowers  decorated 
their  pretty  heads.  The  Russian,  who  was 
a  wealthy  man,  insisted  that  for  the  wed- 
ding pudding  only  Tokay  wine  should  be 
used,  so  that  the  forty  or  fifty  large  silver 
dishes  of  it  which  were  prepared,  repre- 
sented a  small  fortune. 

Marriage  was  the  one  and  only  ambition 
of  a  girl  of  that  epoch,  but  it  really  meant 
the  end  of  all  amusement  for  her.  A  mar- 
ried woman  who  went  to  dances  while  she 
was  still  young  was  branded  a  coquette. 
If  she  dressed  prettily,  as  she  had  done  be- 
fore her  wedding,  and  sat  to  enjoy  the 
breeze  on  the  balcony,  surely  she  must  be 
encouraging  some  new  admirer.  Poor 
thing,  there  was  nothing  left  for  her  to  do 
if  she  wanted  to  keep  her  reputation,  but 


MARRIAGE  COSTUME  33 

remain  at  home,  and  look  after  as  large  a 
family  as  she  would  have  time  to  bring  into 
the  world  during  her  lifetime.  If  her  first 
child  were  a  daughter,  lucky  for  her;  then 
her  absolute  seclusion  would  only  last  fif- 
teen years,  because  she  would  go  out  to 
chaperone  her  daughter.  But  at  thirty,  a 
woman  who  was  the  mother  of  at  least  ten 
children  was  an  old  woman.  However, 
they  were  not  unhappy,  and  their  devotion 
to  their  children  is  proverbial.  Their 
world  was  their  family.  The  husband  con- 
sidered he  had  done  his  duty  if  he  paid  the 
bills,  took  his  meals  at  home,  and  slept 
with  his  wife,  keeping  her  carefully  at 
home,  out  of  harm's  way.  The  street  was 
for  men  only.  If  a  lady  went  out  to  church 
or  to  visit  her  relatives  in  the  morning  it 
would  be  very  bad  form  to  go  out  again 
in  the  evening;  infra  dig.  to  mix  with  the 
common  herd  too  often.  If  two  or  more 


34  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

invitations  were  received  for  dances  in  one 
week  only  one  must  be  accepted  for  the 
young  ladies  of  the  house.  It  was  digni- 
fied to  be  unbending,  and  to  have  it  under- 
stood that  one's  presence  was  a  rare  honor. 
Michinga  was  preaching  this  doctrine  to 
her  daughters  as  late  as  1890. 

The  marriage  of  the  twins  was  the  last 
festival  in  Michinga's  home.  Equality 
and  independence  had  set  the  country  on 
fire.  Benancia  the  white  slave  was  the 
first  to  leave  her  masters.  She  married  a 
Spanish  soldier  who  later  became  governor 
of  one  of  the  provinces.  Benancio  enlisted 
with  the  insurgents  and  became  a  General, 
and  because  his  former  master,  meeting  him 
in  the  street  one  day,  did  not  salute  him 
with  due  respect,  he  used  his  influence  and 
had  the  master's  property  confiscated. 

Dona  Pepilla,  who  had  only  known 
riches  all  her  life,  was  utterly  miserable 


The  rosary  worn  with  the  Panama  national  costume  is  made  of  gold  filigree 

work. 


MARRIAGE  COSTUME  35 

and  helpless.  To  keep  her  house  clean  she 
must  sweep  it  herself,  for  only  two  of  her 
many  slaves  remained  with  her.  Ironing 
the  clothes  was  out  of  the  question;  only 
dresses  were  ironed,  everything  else  was 
only  rough-washed,  very  often  by  poor 
Dona  Pepilla's  beautiful  hands,  which  had 
never  done  harder  work  than  wave  a  fan. 

Dona  Pepilla's  hands  had  been  re- 
nowned for  their  beauty,  and  her  mother 
was  so  proud  of  them  that  until  she  mar- 
ried it  was  a  known  fact  that  the  young 
lady  had  never  been  allowed  to  turn  the 
handle  of  a  door,  for  fear  she  might  strain 
the  muscles  and  spoil  the  perfection  of  her 
hands.  Benancia  used  to  massage  them 
every  night,  as  well  as  the  Sefiora's  tiny 
feet,  which  were  also  lovely,  with  per- 
fumed cocoanut  oil  and  cocoa  butter,  most 
carefully  prepared  with  untold  labor  by 
one  of  the  slave  women.  The  nails  were 


36  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

made  shiny  with  a  little  white  of  egg. 
The  same  slave  prepared  the  sachet  pow- 
der from  sandal  wood,  aromas  and  innum- 
erable spices  and  aromatic  herbs.  All  the 
egg  shells  in  the  house  were  used  in  mak- 
ing the  face  powder.  They  were  crushed 
on  a  marble  slab  first  of  all,  then  sifted, 
washed,  drained,  dried  in  the  sun,  washed 
again  and  again,  and  the  final  result  would 
be  a  cake  of  dazzling  whiteness.  With  a 
small  square  of  flannel  enough  powder 
would  be  rubbed  off  to  apply  to  the  face, 
neck  and  arms.  Dona  Pepilla's  complex- 
ion was  the  wonder  of  all  her  friends,  and 
she  undoubtedly  owed  it  to  her  Arabian 
slave  woman  who  prepared  for  the  house- 
hold every  toilet  requisite.  To  wash  the 
face  every  morning  there  was  a  dainty  soap 
made  of  almonds  and  goat's  milk,  and  to 
keep  the  face  white  and  smooth  and  pre- 
vent sunburn,  the  gelatinous  substance 


Photo    by    Endara. 

Silver  frame  and  holy  picture  used  to  hang  in  Michinga's  home  and  other 
ornaments  of  private  chapel. 


MARRIAGE  COSTUME  37 

from  inside  the  stem  of  the  cactus  com- 
monly called  penca  de  savila  would  be 
carefully  spread  over  the  skin  of  the  face 
and  neck.  If  the  children  got  sunburned 
yucas  were  peeled  and  their  little  faces 
smeared  with  the  juice.  From  the  same 
yucas  the  starch  was  extracted  for  starch- 
ing all  the  clothes  of  the  family. 

All  these  little  fads  disappeared  one  by 
one.  Hands  that  were  too  delicate  to  even 
turn  the  handle  of  a  door  lost  all  their 
beauty  washing  clothes,  and  when  wash- 
ing, cooking  and  sweeping  became  an  al- 
most daily  occupation,  there  was  no  time 
to  think  of  beauty  culture.  Later  on, 
when  the  family  again  became  more  pros- 
perous, the  art  of  making  toilet  lotions  was 
lost,  as  well  as  the  habit  of  using  them. 

Decay  and  poverty  eventually  overtook 
the  happy  and  prosperous  colonial  com- 
munity, and  in  the  fight  for  liberty  every 


38  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

class  met  on  a  level.  The  slaves  were 
given  their  freedom,  the  impoverished 
noblemen  who  would  not  abandon  their  al- 
legiance to  the  Motherland  had  to  fly  from 
the  country,  and  their  property  was  confis- 
cated. Wives  and  children  were  aban- 
doned by  husbands  who  hoped  to  return 
or  send  for  them,  but  never  could  afford 
to  do  either,  and  the  result  was  a  painful 
decay  socially  and  financially.  Dona  Pe- 
pilla  became  la  Nina  Pepilla,  and  her  for- 
mer slave  Benancia  la  Senora  Benancia, 
and  Benancia' s  daughter  married  a  Span- 
ish Don,  and  so  did  the  daughters  of  other 
Benancias.  Education  was  neglected,  and 
morals  became  loose.  When  the  men 
were  always  fighting,  or  away  preparing 
revolutions,  the  wives,  left  alone,  penniless 
and  idle,  were  often  consoled  by  the  atten- 
tions of  other  men.  Poverty  and  misfor- 
tune are  the  surest  murderers  of  morality. 


MARRIAGE  COSTUME  39 

And  some  of  these  unfortunate  noblemen 
and  noblewomen  lost  with  their  other  pos- 
sessions their  dignity,  their  energy  and 
their  self-respect.  The  generation  that 
followed  bears  the  consequences  of  these 
misfortunes,  and  but  few  families  in 
Panama  and  the  other  South  American 
colonies  have  remained  distinctly  Spanish, 
refined,  educated  and  virile,  as  were  their 
ancestors. 

But  the  indomitable  courage  and  perse- 
verance of  the  conquerors  have  not  died 
out,  and  after  more  than  a  hundred  years 
of  revolutions  we  find  South  America  a 
prosperous  country.  It  has  prospered, 
passing  through  a  million  calamities,  and 
some  of  its  nations  have  placed  them- 
selves, in  a  few  years,  on  a  level  with  the 
nations  of  Europe  in  many  respects.  Any 
one  who  has  travelled  in  Argentina,  Chile 
and  other  countries,  can  testify  to  that. 


40  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

All  this  has  been  accomplished  while  the 
Republican  children  were  having  their 
nursery  quarrels,  commonly  called  revo- 
lutions. Now  these  nations  are  almost 
grown  up.  They  have  arrived  at  the  age 
when  a  man  goes  to  the  university.  Their 
nursery  and  college  squabbles  are  becom- 
ing academical  discussions,  and  very  soon 
the  boys  will  be  men,  full  of  knowledge 
and  appreciation  of  the  untold  wealth 
which  is  theirs  to  develop.  And  they  will 
develop  it,  and  form  great  nations. 


CHAPTER  III 


SOME  of  the  old  Spanish  noble- 
men were  very  pompous  people  and 
enjoyed  extraordinary  privileges.  Soon 
after  Michinga's  parents  were  married  a 
criminal  was  being  taken  to  the  Chiriqui 
prison,  and  on  passing  their  house  he  es- 
caped the  vigilance  of  the  police  and  fled 
into  the  patio.  Now  this  was  what  they 
called  a  "casa  de  cadena"  or  "chain, 
house."  A  chain  could  be  placed  across 
the  entrance,  but  even  without  the  chain, 
no  earthly  power,  ecclesiastical  or  civil, 
could  exercise  authority  within,  and  so  it 

happened  that  the  convict  lived  and  died 

41 


42  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

in  that  house,  the  most  faithful  and  de- 
voted servant  Dona  Pepilla  ever  had. 
The  privilege  of  asylum  was  inherited  by 
the  families.  This  house  and  others  were 
also  "Casa  de  Catofce"  or  "House  of  Four- 
teen." 

Michinga's  grandfather  was  a  "Veinti- 
cuatro  de  Se villa,"  of  which  they  were  very 
proud.  This  was  a  title  enjoyed  by  the 
Municipal  Councillors  of  Sevilla  and  Cor- 
doba. At  the  time  when  the  old  city  of 
Panama  became  the  most  important  town 
on  the  New  Continent,  from  which  all  ex- 
peditions started  in  search  of  new  coun- 
tries to  conquer,  for  the  proud  monarch 
who  boasted  that  in  his  dominions  the  sun 
never  set,  the  valuable  services  of  the 
Municipal  Councillors  of  Panama  merited 
that  these  noblemen  should  be  allowed  the 
singular  distinction  of  being  Veinticuatros, 
so  that  Michinga's  father  became  a  Veinti- 


PRIVILEGES  AND  POMPOSITY  43 

cuatro  of  Panama,  just  as  his  father  was  a 
Vemticuatro  of  Sevilla.  Together  with 
this  distinction,  the  King  invested  the 
town  of  Panama  with  the  title  of  "Very 
noble  and  very  loyal,"  which  news  was  re- 
ceived with  great  rejoicings  and  celebrated 
with  much  ringing  of  all  the  church  bells, 
with  bull  fights  and  cock  fights.  These 
Municipal  Councillors  were  very  strict  dis- 
ciplinarians and  seemed  to  have  considered 
no  detail  in  life  too  trivial  for  their  inter- 
ference. In  1572  we  find  them  ordering 
for  runaway  slaves,  who  made  the  royal 
road  a  terror  to  travellers,  all  manner  of 
punishments :  chains,  flogging,  dislocation, 
mutilation,  hanging,  and,  horror  of  horrors, 
the  worst  culprits  were  to  be  publicly  quar- 
tered !  In  another  order,  they  enumerated 
the  punishments  to  be  suffered  by  slave 
women  who  might  dare  to  use  a  silk  dress 
or  a  silk  shawl,  or  gold  jewelry  or  pearls. 


44  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

They  granted  to  colored  women  who  mar- 
ried Spaniards  the  right  to  wear  round 
their  skirt  a  velvet  hem,  plain  gold  earrings 
and  a  gold  chain  round  their  neck,  also  a 
mantilla  over  the  head. 

So  domineering  did  the  Municipalities 
become  that  Viceroys,  Captain-Generals 
and  others  declared  against  them  and  over- 
ruled many  of  their  laws. 

The  votes  for  Municipal  Councillors 
were  cast  on  the  first  of  January  each  year. 
The  ceremony  began  by  a  high  Mass  at 
which  the  ex-Councillors  and  all  who  were 
going  to  vote  received  the  Sacrament  in 
order  that  their  votes  might  be  given  with 
a  clean  conscience,  and  they  were  supposed 
to  vote  only  for  men  of  irreproachable  con- 
duct, mature  age  and  married ! 

By  royal  decree,  the  oldest  Councillor 
living  enjoyed  the  right  of  carrying  the 
royal  standard  in  the  Procession  of  Corpus 


PRIVILEGES  AND  POMPOSITY  45 

Christ!  with  the  images  of  Our  Lady  and 
St.  Peter  on  either  side.  After  the  proces- 
sion the  standard  would  remain  in  the 
Town  Hall  until  the  Feast  of  Santiago, 
when  bull  fights  and  other  festivities  took 
place  and  free  drink  was  distributed  at  the 
expense  of  the  Councillor  who  had  carried 
the  standard. 

It  is  noted  that  their  consequence  was 
such  that  when  Count  de  Castellar  passed 
through  Panama  on  his  way  to  take  charge 
of  the  Viceroyalty  of  Peru,  and  permitted 
the  Councillors  to  stand  in  his  presence 
when  they  went  to  greet  him,  the  King 
issued  special  orders  to  oblige  future  Vice- 
roys passing  through  Panama  to  be  scru- 
pulously polite  when  greeted  by  these  dig- 
nitaries. 

The  Vemticuatros  were  granted  a  special 
insignia,  a  gold  branch  of  olive  interlaced 
with  a  palm,  and  in  the  centre  a  bust  of 


46  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

King  Ferdinand  VII  and  the  inscription, 
"Constancia  de  Panama." 

Another  of  their  singular  privileges  was 
that  the  seat  and  back  of  their  chairs  might 
be  covered  in  crimson. 

But  with  all  these  privileges,  in  1821  we 
find  them  proclaiming  their  independence 
from  Spain,  making  a  solemn  oath  by  the 
cross  and  the  gospels  to  maintain  the 
Catholic  religion  and  defend  the  purity  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin. 

What  an  extraordinary  mixture  of 
petulance  and  fanaticism! 

Pomposity  was  the  order  of  the  day. 
Michinga's  grandfather,  during  one  of  the 
revolutions,  sent  his  clerk  to  get  a  passage 
for  himself  and  his  valet  on  a  ship  bound 
for  Peru.  The  clerk  went  on  board  to  ask 
the  captain  for  a  ticket,  giving  all  the  gen- 
tlemen's names  and  titles,  as  well  as  the 
name  of  the  valet,  which  was  also  a  very 


PRIVILEGES  AND  POMPOSITY  47 

long  one.  The  captain,  who  was  Scotch, 
answered  with  many  apologies  that  he  was 
sorry,  he  had  no  room  on  board  for  so 
many  people ! 

The  month  of  May  was  dreaded.  It 
brought  rain,  flies,  mosquitoes  and  illness. 
During  March,  at  the  end  of  the  dry  sea- 
son, all  the  savannas  were  burnt.  With 
the  April  showers  the  new  grass  began  to 
grow,  the  cattle  ate  this  and  got  ill,  and 
consequently  everybody  who  ate  meat  or 
drank  milk  suffered  in  some  way.  The 
flies  were  a  great  annoyance,  and  the  mos- 
quito bites  on  children  would  get  inflamed 
and  become  regular  tumors  sometimes. 
This  was  also  the  worst  month  for  fever. 
So  everyone  prepared  for  May.  The 
slaves  who  knew  the  medicinal  properties 
of  the  different  plants  were  sent  out  to 
gather  them  in  all  directions.  Weeks 
would  be  spent  by  them  sometimes  in  the 


48  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

forests,  and  on  their  return,  leaves  and 
barks  were  classified,  and  then  powdered 
or  boiled  or  kept  in  their  natural  condition 
in  sealed  bottles,  as  also  a  plentiful  supply 
of  leeches.  Bleeding  and  blood  suck- 
ing were  very  much  in  vogue. 

Dona  Pepilla  was  very  artistic,  and  her 
silver  dishes,  plates,  covers  for  water  jars, 
etc.,  and  also  her  jewelry,  were  all  de- 
signed by  herself.  It  was  the  custom  to 
have  the  silversmith  and  the  goldsmith 
come  and  live  in  the  house  when  any  work 
was  ordered,  and  so  they  went  from  home 
to  home  executing  the  designs  of  the  ladies 
and  gentlemen.  Every  article  for  the 
washstand,  the  dinner  tables  and  writing 
desks  was  made  of  solid  silver.  It  lasted 
forever,  there  was  no  risk  of  breakage, 
while  crockery  or  glass  ordered  from  Eu- 
rope, after  travelling  for  six  months  or  a 
year,  usually  arrived  in  pieces. 


Photo    b\    Endara. 


Colonial  washstand  with  hammered  silver  utensils.  Elaborate  face  towel  on 
wall  rack.  Small  table  with  red  earthenware  water  cup  on  silver  plate 
and  with  silver  cover.  Silver  bell.  Cocoanut  and  silver  wine  cup. 
Silver  drinking  cup  hanging  on  the  wall. 


PRIVILEGES  AND  POMPOSITY  49 

The  Sefiora  was  also  very  fastidious 
about  her  surroundings;  her  house  was 
spotless  and  very  justly  reputed  as  the 
cleanest  in  the  town,  and  she  never  toler- 
ated the  habit  of  smoking  acquired  by  some 
of  the  gentlemen.  One  day  a  Spanish 
General,  who  was  an  inveterate  smoker, 
came  to  pay  his  respects  to  Dona  Pepilla. 
All  went  well  at  first.  He  knew  the  polite 
forms  of  salutation,  "A  los  pies  de  usia,  su 
humilde  servidor"  ("At  your  feet  your 
humble  servant,  Madame"),  bowing  very 
low  to  kiss  the  tips  of  the  Senora's  fingers, 
she  acknowledging  the  compliment  with  a 
courtesy  and  a  word  of  welcome.  Conver- 
sation progressed,  the  General  had  just  ar- 
rived. Their  Majesties  in  Spain  were 
very  pleased  with  the  services  of  the  Col- 
onel her  father-in-law,  Don  Bernardo,  the 
military  decoration  of  San  Hermenegildo 
had  been  bestowed  by  the  King,  and  he  had 


50  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

been  received  as  a  Chevalier  of  the  Order 
of  Santiago.  In  recognition  of  his  services 
— but  spit!  And  the  Senora's  spotless 
floor  was  stained. 

Dionisio,  coming  in  with  a  tray  of  wine 
and  cakes,  arrived  at  the  critical  moment, 
and  could  have  murdered  the  old  General, 
if  possible.  The  Senora  called  out  for 
Benancia:  "Quick,  a  cup  of  Tisana  of 
orange  leaves,  Su  Excelencia  el  Capitan 
General  estd  sufriendo  de  indigestion  de 
saliva!"  (His  Excellency  the  Captain 
General  is  suffering  from  an  indigestion  of 
saliva.)  And  the  tisane  was  made,  and 
the  General  drank  it  instead  of  the  famous 
Moscatel  wine  of  the  Senora's  house.  But 
he  never  called  on  the  Senora  again. 

Don  Ramon  was  a  silent  man  and  a  strict 
disciplinarian.  The  only  sorrow  he  ever 
caused  his  wife  was  in  becoming  a  Free- 
mason (in  those  days  disapproved  of  by 


PRIVILEGES  AND  POMPOSITY  51 

pious  ladies)  and  the  head  of  the  Order  in 
Panama.  Otherwise  he  was  perfection. 
He  always  rested  after  meals  alone  in  his 
room,  where  Benancia  would  take  to  him  a 
fragrant  cigar  made  by  her  and  the  little 
silver  basin  with  burning  charcoal  to  light 
it,  and  one  of  the  children  went  to  keep 
him  company.  Michinga  owed  her  name 
to  this,  because  when  she  was  old  enough 
to  be  a  companion  to  her  father  she  soon 
became  the  favorite,  and  this  austere  man, 
who  never  smiled,  would  do  what  he  had 
never  done  in  his  life,  he  would  play,  and 
this  was  the  game : 

With  his  large  linen  lawn  handkerchief, 
rolled  up,  he  would  make  a  small  mouse 
with  ears  and  long  tail  and  throw  it  in  the 
air  tied  with  a  long  string,  Michinga  try- 
ing to  catch  it.  So  he  called  the  child 
"Michinga,"  or  "Little  Kitten." 


CHAPTER  IV 

A    DINNER   IN    PANAMA   IN    1842 

WHEN  the  Colombian  General  Mos- 
quera,  who  was  a  cousin  of  the 
Empress  Eugenie,  came  to  Panama,  after 
his  victories  in  Peru,  his  compatriots, 
justly  proud  of  him,  feasted  him  in  every 
possible  way.  An  address  of  welcome  was 
written  by  the  Governor  of  Panama,  and 
Michinga,  the  ten-year-old  little  beauty, 
accompanied  by  a  number  of  other  little 
girls,  was  chosen  to  say  the  word  of  wel- 
come. Attired  in  finest  white  linen  lawn 
and  exquisite  old  Mechlin  lace,  at  which 
Benancia  had  worked  for  months,  white 
silk  stockings  and  satin  slippers,  with  her 

hair  dressed  very  high  in  a  mass  of  curls 

52 


Photo    by    Endara. 


Old  French  and  English  cut  glass  from  Michinga's  home. 


A  DINNER  IN  PANAMA  IN  1842  53 

and  puffs,  held  with  gold  and  pearl  orna- 
ments, the  little  damsel,  with  her  retinue 
of  small  friends,  was  taken  at  2  P.  M.  to 
the  Governor's  reception  room,  which  is  the 
same  yellow  drawing-room  of  to-day's 
Presidential  Palace.  Here  "All  Panama" 
had  assembled,  and  General  Mosquera, 
after  hearing  little  Michinga's  speech, 
knelt  before  her  to  allow  a  wreath  of  flow- 
ers, made  of  down  feathers,  to  be  placed  on 
his  forehead,  kissed  her  hand  and  then  rose 
to  express  his  thanks  for  the  welcome  Pan- 
ama had  given  him.  A  reception  immedi- 
ately followed,  and  at  4  P.  M.  dinner  was 
announced. 

We  have  listened  to  Michinga's  speech, 
which  she  still  remembers,  word  for  word, 
though  seventy-five  years  have  passed  since 
she  said  it  to  General  Mosquera : 

"Senor  General:  La  sien  de  un  valiente  cual 
vox  lo  sois  debe  ser  orlada  con  la  corona  del  tri- 


54  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

unfo  por  la  mano  de  la  inocenda.  Aceptad, 
pues,  esta  guirnalda  que  os  consagro  a  nombre  del 
pueblo  Panameno  acojiendo  benigno  mis  votos 
reducidos  a  desearos  prosperidad  en  vutestras  em- 
presas  en  defensa  de  la  santa  y  hermosa  causa 
que  habeis  tan  luddamente  sostenido  con  ese 
espada  que  despues  de  haber  brillado  en  el  dia  de 
Tescua  contra  los  enemigos  del  orden  sera,  no  lo 
dudo,  para  mis  paisanos  la  oliva  de  la  paz." 

"Mr.  General:  The  forehead  of  the  brave 
man  that  you  are  is  about  to  be  adorned  with 
the  wreath  of  triumph  by  the  hand  of  innocence. 
Accept  this  crown  that  I  offer  you,  in  the  name 
of  the  Panama  people,  and  listen  kindly  to  my 
wishes,  summed  up  in  a  desire  for  your  success  in 
all  your  enterprises  in  defense  of  the  holy  and 
beautiful  cause  which  you  have  so  brilliantly  sus- 
tained with  that  sword,  which,  after  shining  in  the 
fields  of  Tescua  against  the  enemies  of  public 
order,  will,  I  have  no  doubt,  become  the  emblem 
of  peace  among  my  countrymen." 

A  dinner  in  those  days  was  a  most  elab- 
orate affair,  always  entrusted  to  a  "Master 


A  DINNER  IN  PANAMA  IN  1842  55 

of  Ceremonies."  General  Mosquera  took 
Michinga  to  table,  and  she  sat  on  his  right. 
Soups  of  various  kinds,  fish  and  entrees 
were  served,  and  this  constituted  the  "first 
service,"  and  when  it  was  ended  the  guests 
rose  from  the  table,  and  amused  them- 
selves until  the  table  was  made  ready  for 
the  "second  service."  Roasts,  tamales, 
salads  and  vegetables  were  now  brought  in 
lavish  profusion,  and  when  they  had  been 
partaken  of,  the  table  was  again  left  va- 
cant for  redecoration.  At  the  "third  serv- 
ice" even  the  table  cloth  was  changed, 
fresh  flowers  were  used,  and  candles  were 
lit.  This  was  dessert  time,  and  coffee 
and  liqueurs  followed.  When  dinner  was 
over  and  the  ball  began,  the  clock  had 
struck  ten. 

A  formal  quadrille  opened  the  ball,  and 
then  followed  the  contredance,  rigodon, 


56  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

and  other  formal  dances  of  the  period. 

The  Master  of  Ceremonies  on  this  occa- 
sion was  Mr.  Jovane,  a  wealthy  gentleman 
of  Panama,  considered  an  authority  on  eti- 
quette. The  magnificent  old  Spanish  sil- 
ver dinner  service  used  for  the  occasion 
was  his.  The  cut  glass  for  wines  and  the 
Worcester  porcelain  dessert  service  had 
come  from  England. 

In  those  days  there  were  no  street  lights, 
so  after  a  ball  a  servant  always  walked  in 
front  of  his  master,  carrying  a  candle  in  a 
glass  shade.  These  shades  were  called 
fanales,  and  another  kind,  still  in  use, 
faroles. 

The  Panamanian  desserts,  of  which 
there  is  a  great  variety,  are  delicious  in 
taste  and  very  elaborate  to  make.  The 
guava  jelly,  jam  and  paste  are  generally 
known  to  foreigners,  but  others  equally 
delicious  are  less  well  known.  The  huevo- 


A  DINNER  IN  PANAMA  IN  1842  57 

chimbo  is  a  solid  pudding  made  of  the  yolks 
of  eggs,  eighty  yolks  being  required  for  a 
dish  sufficient  for  18  persons.  After  it  is 
cooked,  it  is  soaked  in  a  specially  prepared 
syrup.  The  queso  de  pina  is  an  exquisite 
custard  in  which  pineapple  juice  takes  the 
place  of  milk.  Man  jar  bianco  is  made  of 
milk,  sugar  and  spices,  boiled  until  they 
become  of  the  consistency  of  cheese. 
Arroz  con  cacao  is  rice  cooked  in  cocoanut 
milk  and  chocolate,  served  with  cocoanut 
cream  and  grated  native  cheese.  Maza- 
morra  de  maiz  nuevo  is  a  blanc  mange 
made  of  very  new  corn  passed  through  a 
sieve  and  cooked  in  cocoanut  milk  until  it 
becomes  hard.  This  is  a  most  delicate  and 
delicious  dessert.  Cocada  nevada  is  a 
thick,  velvety  cream  of  cow's  milk  and 
cocoanut  cream.  The  inevitable  "wed- 
ding pudding"  which  takes  the  place  of  the 
northern  "wedding  cake"  is  made  of 


58  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

sponge  cake  soaked  and  baked  in  sherry 
wine,  syrup  and  spices,  and  is  called  sopa 
borracha.  The  sopa  de  gloria  accompanies 
the  former,  and  differs  from  it  because 
milk  is  used  instead  of  wine. 

The  list  of  jams  is  legion,  and  there 
are  small  cakes  in  great  variety, — Biscote- 
las,  Suspiros,  Cajetitas  de  coco,  Papillas, 
Huebo  mejio,  Cabellitos  de  angel,  Bol- 
loria,  Pio  V,  Cabanga,  etc.  As  desserts  I 
might  also  mention  the  bollos.  The  bollo 
chango  (the  best  is  to  be  had  in  Taboga) 
is  made  of  pure  new  corn.  Bollo  de  coco, 
of  corn  and  cocoanut;  Bollo  Chiricano,  of 
corn  and  cheese;  bollo  bianco,  of  pure  full 
grown  corn ;  and  bollo  de  aji,  which  is  the 
same,  colored  with  a  sauce  made  of  hot 
peppers.  All  of  these  are  made  in  the 
shape  of  a  plantain,  more  or  less,  and 
wrapped  in  corn  or  palm  leaves. 


CHAPTER  V 


DON  JOSE  MANUEL  DE  ARCE 
Y  MAONO,  a  Spanish  nobleman 
from  the  city  of  Santander,  Seigneur  of 
Puente  de  Arce,  was  the  son  of  Don  Juan 
Manuel,  a  descendant  of  the  famous  Don 
Diego  de  Arze  Reinoso,  "Grand  Inquisi- 
tor" of  Spain.  He  came  to  this  capital  of 
the  Kingdom  of  Tierra  Firme,  in  the  year 
1773,  and  owned  many  slaves,  some  of 
whom  had  cost  him  large  sums  of  money 
and  been  brought  from  distant  lands. 
Among  these  slaves,  who  served  their  mas- 
ter in  the  farms,  in  the  plantations  and  in 
the  household,  one  hideous  black  man  was 

59 


60  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

the  great  favorite.  Respected  and  loved 
by  all  the  other  slaves  he  also  enjoyed  vari- 
ous privileges  from  the  kindness  of  his  mas- 
ter, who,  in  the  evenings  when  the  family 
was  united,  would  allow  the  slave  to  relate 
the  history  of  his  early  life. 

Juan  Godoy  the  slave  was  called,  lame, 
grey  haired,  with  enormous  flat  nose  and 
thick-lipped  mouth,  his  grotesque  appear- 
ance completed  by  the  total  absence  of 
both  ears,  for  which  he  became  known  as 
Juanillo  el  Gacho,  which  means  "Johnnie 
without  ears." 

Johnnie  had  not  been  a  very  saintly 
youth,  the  loss  of  his  ears  testified  to  this. 
The  Spanish  monarch  had  issued  a  royal 
decree  ordering  all  runaway  slaves  to  be 
mutilated  in  this  cruel  manner  as  a  pun- 
ishment for  their  fault.  Some  of  these 
runaways  had  formed  into  organized  bands 
known  as  cimarrones  and  had  become  the 


THE  SLAVE  JUANILLO  EL  GACHO        61 

terror  of  the  country.  Travellers  and  con- 
voys were  assaulted,  robbed  and  some- 
times murdered,  and  all  kinds  of  outrages 
were  committed  by  them  on  the  highroads. 
Johnnie  had  deserted  his  master  after 
leaving  a  poisoned  dagger  in  the  heart  of 
the  overseer  who  used  to  flog  him  merci- 
lessly for  any  insignificant  misdeed.  He 
became  famous  with  a  band  of  outlaws 
who  in  admiration  of  his  strength  and  dar- 
ing named  him  chief.  What  this  band 
lacked  in  numbers  it  made  up  for  in  feroc- 
ity and  audacity  and  became  the  terror  of 
not  only  the  Panamanians,  but  of  all  the 
neighboring  country.  The  radius  of  their 
operations  was  quite  large,  but  they  estab- 
lished their  headquarters  in  the  most  inac- 
cessible hills,  overlooking  the  lovely  val- 
ley of  Pacora,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  settle- 
ments of  Bermejal  and  Cabra.  Here  the 
chief  dispensed  justice  to  his  men,  and  to 


62  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

the  Indians  of  the  tribe  as  well,  undis- 
turbed monarch  of  all  that  surrounded  him; 
distributing  the  treasure  taken  from  de- 
fenseless travellers;  condemning  to  heart- 
less flogging  any  man  showing  fear  or  hesi- 
tation to  obey  his  orders;  rewarding  the 
brave,  and,  when  the  treasure  was  large 
enough  to  satisfy  him,  becoming  magnani- 
mous and  setting  the  captives  free  after 
they  had  been  carefully  robbed  even  of 
their  clothes.  His  large  house  made  of 
bamboo  and  thatched,  was  also  the  meeting 
house  of  the  band.  Here  they  would 
gather  to  deliberate  their  plans  of  assault 
and  of  escape,  Johnnie,  the  chief,  always 
sitting  on  his  stone  throne  with  a  wreath 
of  macaw  feathers  circling  his  forehead. 
All  his  possessions  were  lawlessly  acquired, 
even  the  stone  throne  which  belonged  to 
the  Cacique  Bermejal,  the  rightful  chief 
of  that  region. 


Phot 


Stone  throne  of  Juanillo  el  Gacho. 


THE  SLAVE  JUANILLO  EL  GACHO       63 

One  day  luck  deserted  this  band  of  evil- 
doers and  they  were  caught  in  an  ambush 
carefully  prepared  for  them  by  the  Spanish 
soldiers.  A  fierce  battle  they  fought,  both 
sides  determined  to  win.  Johnnie  was 
shot  in  the  leg  and  his  followers  on  see- 
ing him  fall  lost  their  courage  and  fled. 
Few  saved  their  lives,  the  Spaniards  pur- 
suing them  with  great  persistence  in  the 
hope  of  exterminating  them  altogether. 
Johnnie  was  carried  to  Panama  where  he 
narrowly  escaped  being  lynched;  the  peo- 
ple begged  to  be  allowed  to  tear  the  mon- 
ster to  pieces,  but  the  authorities  protected 
him  and  he  received  the  punishment  or- 
dered by  law. 

On  the  appointed  day  he  was  conducted 
to  the  Cathedral  Plaza,  and  there,  amid  the 
curses  and  jeers  of  a  populace,  so  many 
of  whom  had  suffered  endless  moral  and 
physical  torture  at  his  hands,  Johnnie's 


64  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

ears  were  cut  off  and  he  was  then  sent  to 
the  dungeons  of  the  Chiriqui  prison  for 
life. 

Years  passed  in  the  solitude  of  his  damp 
dark  cell  transformed  Johnnie  into  a  bet- 
ter man,  he  repented  of  his  past  crimes,  his 
hair  became  snowy  white  and  instead  of 
the  ferocious  expression  he  had  cultivated 
to  inspire  his  criminal  followers,  a  placid, 
resigned  look  greeted  his  gaoler  every 
morning.  Johnnie's  conduct  in  jail  was 
exemplary  and  he  became  the  delight  of 
the  other  prisoners  and  their  gaolers,  who 
would,  against  the  usual  custom,  allow 
him  to  sit  in  a  central  hall  out  of  his  cell, 
to  relate  the  thrilling  adventures  of  his 
past  life. 

When  King  Charles  IV  ascended  the 
throne  of  Spain,  in  1788,  to  commemorate 
the  event,  Don  Jose  Domas  y  Valle,  Gov- 
ernor and  Commander  General  of  the 


A  "look  out"  tower  on  the  city  walls  looking  on  the  Pacific. 


65 

Kingdom  and  Brigadier  of  the  Royal 
Army,  he  allowed  the  worst  hundred  crimi- 
nals of  the  prison  to  draw  lots  for  release, 
and  our  Johnnie  was  one  of  the  fortunates. 
Old  in  years,  and  lame  from  a  wound  neg- 
lected in  a  damp  prison  cell,  Johnnie  had 
no  strength  and  no  inclination  to  seek  new 
adventures,  so  he  made  his  way  to  the  home 
of  Don  Jose  Manuel  de  Arce,  to  offer  his 
services  and  his  life  on  condition  of  being 
granted  a  favor  he  would  ask.  He  had  but 
one  ambition  in  life,  he  said,  to  sit  once 
again  upon  his  stone  throne,  the  emblem  of 
his  former  power.  Johnnie  had  great  ven- 
eration for  Don  Manuel  and  with  good 
reason.  In  1876,  Don  Manuel  had  been 
Alcalde  and  had  visited  the  prison.  John- 
nie interested  him,  his  clever  talk  and  bi- 
zarre appearance  fascinated  the  old  gentle- 
man, and  Johnnie  became  his  protege  and 
was  henceforth  regularly  supplied  by  him 


66  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

with  tobacco  and  new  clothes.  It  was  not 
surprising,  therefore,  to  see  the  ex-convict 
find  his  way  to  the  home  of  his  benefactor, 
and  Don  Manuel  in  turn  was  moved  by 
this  mark  of  devotion  and  by  the  strange 
request,  which  he  promised  to  grant. 

The  next  morning  Johnnie  was  very 
early  astride  an  excellent  mule,  with  a 
score  of  Don  Manuel's  slaves,  bound  for 
Bermejal  in  search  of  his  old  stone  throne 
which  they  brought  back  to  Panama  upon 
their  shoulders,  enduring  many  hardships 
with  their  heavy  load  over  the  hills,  across 
the  rivers  and  in  the  dense  forests,  sleep- 
ing where  night  overtook  them  with  the 
trees  and  skies  as  their  only  shelter,  thirty 
miles  there  and  thirty  back,  tramping  along 
for  many  days.  The  arrival  of  this  strange 
procession  with  its  wonderful  burden, 
was  greeted  at  Don  Manuel's  home  with 
acclamations  from  the  children  of  the 


THE  SLAVE  JUANILLO  EL  GACHO       67 

household,  and  from  the  slaves  who  looked 
upon  the  owner  of  this  extraordinary  seat 
as  a  superior  being.  Johnnie  was  clever 
enough  not  to  allow  this  impression  to  fade. 
On  Sundays  when  the  children  did  not  go 
to  school,  he  would  make  a  crown  from  the 
feathers  of  the  chickens  boiling  in  the  Sun- 
day sancocho,  and  with  this  emblem  of 
power  pressing  round  his  temples  he  would 
sit  upon  the  famous  ancient  throne  and 
play  king,  to  the  great  delight  of  the  chil- 
dren and  to  the  edification  of  the  other 
slaves. 

Johnnie  ended  his  days  as  doorkeeper 
to  the  Arce  family.  He  was  to  be  seen  al- 
ways on  his  throne,  sitting  by  the  door  with 
all  the  children  of  the  neighborhood,  Mich- 
inga  among  them,  surrounding  him  to  lis- 
ten to  his  endless  stories.  After  his  death 
the  throne  remained  in  the  Arce  family. 
Don  Bernardo  Arce  Mata  left  it  to  his 


68  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

children  with  the  tradition  of  Johnnie's  do- 
ings, just  as  they  had  been  related  to  him 
by  his  father  Don  Bernardo  Arce  y  Oriflon, 
a  son  of  Don  Jose  Manuel,  Johnnie's  mas- 
ter. 

The  throne  was  given  to  me  by  Don 
Eduardo  Icaza  who  married  the  heiress  of 
the  Arce  family,  and  he  was  moved  to  make 
me  this  priceless  gift  with  its  authentic  his- 
tory in  recognition  of  a  service  I  was  once 
able  and  very  pleased  to  render  him. 
When  his  wife  came  into  her  inheritance, 
two  red  velvet  bound  volumes,  with  hand- 
some silver  clasps,  containing  the  geneal- 
ogy of  the  Arces,  exquisitely  illustrated  on 
parchment,  were  found  among  the  family 
papers,  and  Don  Eduardo,  knowing  how  I 
would  like  to  see  them,  brought  them  to 
me  one  day.  Strangely  enough,  some 
years  previously,  two  identical  volumes 
had  been  entrusted  to  me,  belonging  to  the 


THE  SLAVE  JUANILLO  EL  GACHO        69 

Icazas,  Don  Eduardo's  family,  and  I  re- 
marked how  nice  it  would  be  if  he  could 
own  them,  but  they  had  passed  to  another 
member  of  the  family.  I  had,  however, 
taken  a  copy  of  the  Icaza  genealogy  be- 
cause it  contained  a  great  deal  of  Spanish 
history  which  interested  me,  so  I  offered  to 
make  a  handwritten  copy  on  official  paper 
signed  by  me  in  the  presence  of  witnesses 
declaring  it  a  faithful  copy  of  the  original, 
and  this  I  did. 

I  give  a  photograph  of  Johnnie's  throne 
at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter.  It  is 
in  a  very  good  state  of  preservation  and 
is  a  typical  specimen  of  the  thrones  of  stone 
made  in  Cuzco  and  used  by  the  Incas  and 
caciques.  It  represents  the  figure  of  a 
crouching  Indian  with  a  seat  resting  flat 
upon  his  back. 


A  Panama  girl  wearing  the  national  costume,  called  "Pollera.' 


II 

THE  NATIONAL  COSTUME 

THE  national  costume  of  Panama  is 
believed  to  have  been  originally  a 
gypsy  dress  altered  to  suit  the  times.  It 
was  in  the  Spanish  Colonial  days  the  usual 
attire  of  the  women  servants  of  the  early 
settlers  in  Panama.  It  was  particularly 
worn  by  the  children's  nurses,  and  the  dress 
is  so  pretty  and  so  appropriate  in  a  hot  cli- 
mate that  even  the  ladies  of  the  nobility 
would  sometimes  wear  it  in  the  privacy  of 
the  home,  during  the  hot  hours  of  the  day. 
There  are,  even  to-day,  in  the  Spanish  fam- 
ilies of  Panama,  old  servants  who  never 
wear  any  other  dress.  These  old  women, 
relics  of  a  past  age,  are  delightful  to  talk 

73 


74  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

to,  their  Old  World  respect  to  their  mas- 
ters, their  wonderful  memory  of  past 
events  and  their  devotion  to  the  family  in 
whose  house  some  of  them  were  born  of 
slaves  that  had  been  set  free,  make  them 
rare  treasures  that  with  true  sadness  we  see 
disappearing,  for  they  will  never  be  re- 
placed. 

A  careful  study  of  the  national  dress  de- 
tects a  gypsy  origin.  The  rosary  which  a 
gypsy  wears  of  carved  wood  beads,  and  the 
scapular  of  cloth,  were  copied  in  solid  gold 
by  the  Spanish  Don  who  wished  to  attire 
his  servants  in  a  manner  befitting  his 
wealth  and  position.  The  cabestrillo,  a 
chain  from  which  hang  all  sizes  of  gold 
coins,  is  also  a  gypsy  idea.  The  huge  half 
moon  earrings  are  copied  in  gold  and 
pearls,  and  a  fascinating  hair  ornament 
known  as  the  pajuela,  is  a  copy  of  the  dag- 
ger that  some  gypsies  are  wont  to  carry  in 


Buttons  worn  to  hold  the  skirts  of  the  Panama  national  costume  and  two 
kinds  of  pajuelas,  worn  as  hair  ornaments;  the  smaller  of  these  is  a 
toothpick  and  ear  cleaner. 


THE  NATIONAL  COSTUME  75 

their  hair.  The  one  in  my  collection,  which 
is  illustrated  in  these  pages,  has  a  blade  of 
solid  gold,  exquisitely  carved,  while  the 
handle  is  a  work  of  art  in  filigree  and 
pearls;  on  the  back  of  the  blade  is  a  long 
hook  to  fasten  it  to  the  hair.  Another  kind 
of  pajuela,  also  in  the  shape  of  a  small 
dagger,  served  a  singular  purpose, — one 
end  was  a  sharp  tooth  pick,  the  other  end 
was  shaped  like  a  tiny  shell,  with  which  to 
clean  the  ears. 

Two  kinds  of  hair  combs  are  worn,  one 
with  a  band  of  elaborate  gold  work,  called 
de  balcon,  because  of  the  resemblance  of 
the  work  to  a  balcony  railing.  These  are 
placed  towards  the  back  of  the  head  on 
either  side,  the  others  called  de  perlas,  be- 
cause the  gold  work  is  surmounted  with 
pearls,  are  worn  a  little  more  to  the  front. 
Corals  were  sometimes  used  instead  of 
pearls.  There  are  sprays  of  flowers  made 


76  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

of  gold  and  pearls.  The  set  is  usually  of 
four  sprays.  They  are  worked  in  such  a 
manner  that  the  stems  are  flexible  and 
"tremble"  as  one  moves,  hence  their  name, 
tembleques.  The  tembleques  are  worn  on 
either  side  of  the  head  behind  the  ears,  with 
any  amount  of  jasmine,  carnations  and 
small  rosebuds.  On  the  temples,  on  a 
level  with  the  eyes,  small  gold  coins  were 
glued.  This  custom  does  not  prevail  now. 

Eight  carved  very  solid  gold  buttons  are 
used  to  hold  the  skirts  with  ribbons.  The 
skirts  are  two  and  very  full,  made  of  grad- 
uated frills  with  yards  and  yards  of  lace. 
They  open  at  the  sides,  each  end  has  a  loop 
to  put  the  ribbons  through,  and  these  are 
tied  back  and  front,  also  a  gypsy  custom. 

Rings  are  used  galore  on  all  the  fingers 
of  the  hand,  but  no  bracelets.    We  are  told  % 
the  reason  for  this  is  that  the  bracelet  has 
been  thought  an  emblem  of  slavery,  and 


Tembleques  are  the  hair  ornaments  of  filigree  gold  work  and  pearls,  worn 
with  the  Panama  national  costume.  The  earrings  representing  bunches 
of  grapes  are  worn  with  ordinary  costume,  and  are  made  in  Bogota. 


The  cadena  chata,  or  flat  chain  emblematical  of  Panama,  worn  with  the 
national  costume  of  Panama.     See  description  on  page  77. 


THE  NATIONAL  COSTUME  77 

such  emblem  would  find  no  favor  with  a 
gypsy. 

The  cadena  chata,  or  flat  chain,  is  the 
only  part  of  the  costume  which  is  abso- 
lutely Panamanian  in  its  significance. 
The  word  Panama  is  Indian,  means  variety 
or  abundance  of  fish;  it  was  given  to  the 
coast  along  the  bay  because  of  the  quanti- 
ties of  fish  to  be  found  in  its  waters. 
Pedrarias,  the  founder  of  old  Panama,  and 
Fernandez  de  Cordoba  the  founder  of  the 
second  town  of  this  name,  cannot  be  said 
to  have  "given"  it.  They  simply  "contin- 
ued" to  use  the  name  by  which  this  region 
was  known  to  its  original  inhabitants. 
The  links  of  the  cadena  chata  represent 
fish  scales,  and  suspended  from  the  end  is 
usually  a  gold  fish.  Some  women  seem  to 
have  preferred  to  wear  a  sacred  image  or 
cross,  instead  of  a  fish,  so  both  kinds  of  em- 
blems are  used.  The  camisole  which  does 


78  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

duty  as  bodice  in  this  costume  is  composed 
of  circular  frills  which  are  divided  at  the 
back  and  front  and  are  clasped  together  by 
two  sets  of  gold  links  formed  of  small  gold 
shells,  like  the  delicate  little  pink  shells  to 
be  found  on  the  shores  of  Panama  Bay. 
No  stockings  are  worn,  but  there  were  two 
shoes.  The  dainty  satin  or  panne  slipper, 
very  similar  to  those  of  a  modern  ballet 
dancer,  is  the  only  kind  in  use  at  present, 
but  formerly  it  was  worn  indoors,  while  a 
kid  slipper,  called  babucha,  which  has 
wooden  heels  and  no  back,  was  worn  over 
the  satin  shoe  for  walking  in  the  street  and 
was  slipped  off  at  the  door  on  entering  a 
church  or  house. 

The  scarfs  woven  by  natives  are  of  cot- 
ton, or  of  silk,  and  called  macanas  or  re- 
bosos.  The  white  linen  scarfs  with  ends 
of  drawn  thread  work  cross-stitch  or  em- 
broidery are  known  as  pano  de  pollera. 


Gold  and  pearl  combs  worn  with  the  Panama  national  costume. 


THE  NATIONAL  COSTUME  79 

Nurses  used  to  throw  them  open  over  the 
left  shoulder  so  that  the  baby  and  its 
clothes  would  rest  against  the  cool  white 
linen.  I  may  here  mention  a  typical  cus- 
tom. When  a  nurse  ended  her  task  of  suc- 
cessfully weaning  a  baby  the  mother  pre- 
sented the  nurse  with  a  cadena  chata  as  a 
reward. 

The  so-called  "Panama  hats,"  worn  with 
the  national  dress,  have  never  been  made 
in  Panama.  The  greatest  number  are 
manufactured  in  Ecuador,  and  are  known 
to  all  South  Americans  as  Jipijapa  or 
Monte  Cristi  hats  because  the  first  ones 
came  from  there.  The  finest  hats  to-day, 
for  which  five  hundred  pesos  and  more  are 
paid,  are  made  near  Jipijapa  in  a  place 
called  Monte  Cristi. 

A  silk  knitted  purse  with  two  divisions 
is  suspended  from  the  waist,  two  rings 
holding  the  openings.  At  one  end  is 


8o  COLONIAL  LIFE  IN  PANAMA 

placed  the  gold  and  at  the  other  the  plata 
menu  da  (small  change) . 

The  material  mostly  used  for  this  pollera 
is  a  linen  crash  called  coquito.  In  many 
instances  it  is  ornamented  with  exquisite 
designs  made  in  cross-stitch.  One  of  the 
prettiest  of  these  is  called  the  Vallarino  de- 
sign, and  as  others  are  known  by  the 
names  of  other  distinguished  old  hidalgo 
families,  it  would  seem  that  the  Spanish  la- 
dies vied  with  each  other  in  inventing 
pretty  designs  for  the  dresses  of  their  maid 
servants.  Needlework  was  the  chief  occu- 
pation of  these  ladies.  Numbers  of  these 
polleras  were  hand  embroidered  in  Bogota, 
but  there  is  a  very  beautiful  kind  of  needle- 
work peculiar  to  Panama  and  always  used 
for  the  underskirt  of  the  national  dress, 
which  is  called  talcos.  It  is  made  of  two 
materials  sewn  together.  A  design  is 
drawn  on  one  material  which  is  always 


Gold  coins  ornamented  with  gold  scroll  designs,  and  worn  suspended  from 

a  plain  chain  with  the  national  costume  of  Panama. 

The  small  necklet  and  heart  pendant  of  gold  filigree  work  is  worn  with 

ordinary  costume. 


THE  NATIONAL  COSTUME  81 

thicker  than  the  other,  the  design  is  then 
gradually  cut  out  and  hemmed  with  tiny 
invisible  stitches,  and  the  effect  of  this 
sort  of  shadow  work  is  very  unique.  The 
waistband  of  the  underskirt  sometimes  is 
made  with  a  stomacher  of  most  elaborate 
and  peculiar  needlework. 

For  ordinary  working  days  less  lace  and 
less  frills  are  used,  and  the  material  usu- 
ally selected  is  calico.  The  full  dress  is 
worn  a  great  deal  at  present  on  feast  days, 
especially  during  Carnival,  and  is  most  be- 
coming and  picturesque. 


THE    END 


